Visible and Ultraviolet Laser Spectroscopy of ThF

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2019

Publication Title

Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy

Volume

358

First page number:

1

Last page number:

16

Abstract

The molecular ion ThF+ is the species to be used in the next generation of search for the electron’s Electric Dipole Moment (eEDM) at JILA. The measurement requires creating molecular ions in the eEDM sensitive state, the rovibronic ground state 3D1; vþ ¼ 0; J þ ¼ 1. Survey spectroscopy of neutral ThF is required to identify an appropriate intermediate state for a Resonance Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization (REMPI) scheme that will create ions in the required state. We perform broadband survey spectroscopy (from 13,000 to 44,000 cm1) of ThF using both Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) and 1 þ 10 REMPI spectroscopy. We observe and assign 345 previously unreported vibronic bands of ThF. We demonstrate 30% efficiency in the production of ThF+ ions in the eEDM sensitive state using the X ¼ 3=2 [32.85] intermediate state. In addition, we propose a method to increase the aforementioned efficiency to 100% by using vibrational autoionization via core-nonpenetrating Rydberg states, and discuss theoretical and experimental challenges. Finally, we also report 83 vibronic bands of an impurity species, ThO.

Keywords

Thorium monofluoride; Thorium monoxide; Electron's electric dipole moment; Laser induced fluorescence; Resonance enhanced multi-photon ionization; Core-nonpenetrating rydberg state; State-selective photoionization

Disciplines

Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics | Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Physics

Language

English

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